A new Mississippi law, set to take effect this week, empowers the state's Department of Public Safety to compile a registry of undocumented immigrants residing within its borders. The legislation has raised alarms among immigrant advocates who fear it could become a tool for targeting individuals for deportation, echoing concerns related to federal immigration enforcement initiatives.
The law directs the state's top law enforcement agency to identify the number and identities of undocumented immigrants, including their names, addresses, countries of origin, and whether they are adults or children. It also permits the collection of criminal history and details about deportation proceedings. Information on individuals suspected of violating laws is to be shared with state and local authorities.
State Sen. Angela Hill, the bill's sponsor, stated that the measure is intended to help the state understand the scope of illegal immigration and its associated problems, which she claims include human and drug trafficking. "In order to address the problems caused by illegal immigration, we need to understand the magnitude of the problem. Identifying the number and identity of illegal aliens in Mississippi is a concrete way to better understand the problem," Hill said.
The Mississippi Department of Public Safety is authorized to pursue this effort for two years, potentially including individuals who have overstayed their visas. The law does not explicitly mandate or prohibit sharing the compiled database with federal immigration authorities, though other provisions encourage cooperation agreements with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Immigrant rights organizations have voiced strong opposition. Efrén Olivares, vice president of litigation and legal strategy at the National Immigration Law Center, warned that the law is "practically unworkable" and concerningly reminiscent of registries used in other countries to target specific groups. He noted the frequent changes in immigration status that individuals experience, making a static registry potentially inaccurate and problematic.
Jessica Vaughan, director of policy studies at the Center for Immigration Studies, views the law as sensible, stating it "makes a lot of sense" and increases the likelihood that individuals' illegal presence will be brought to the attention of federal authorities. However, she emphasized the need for a reliable method to verify immigration status.
According to the American Immigration Council, Mississippi has one of the nation's lowest percentages of undocumented immigrants, with fewer than 28,000 individuals, representing less than 1% of the state's population. Victoria Francis, deputy director of state and local initiatives for the American Immigration Council, expressed concern that such a mandate could divert law enforcement resources from public safety duties towards investigating immigrants who contribute to the economy. She warned that it "invites profiling and turning entire communities into targets."
Lydia Grizzell, policy and advocacy manager for the American Civil Liberties Union of Mississippi, echoed these concerns, stating the law could erode trust between law enforcement and communities, potentially discouraging individuals from reporting crimes or seeking help.
This Mississippi law follows a trend of increased state-level immigration legislation across the U.S. Republican-led states have recently passed numerous laws aimed at bolstering immigration enforcement, including measures requiring local sheriffs to cooperate with ICE, restricting public benefits, and verifying the immigration status of voters. A similar executive order was issued in Florida in 2021 by Gov. Ron DeSantis, directing state law enforcement to identify undocumented immigrants transported into the state.
Conversely, some Democratic-led states have enacted laws to limit federal immigration enforcement, such as prohibiting agreements with ICE or restricting immigration arrests in sensitive locations without warrants. At the federal level, the Trump administration has prioritized enforcement of laws requiring noncitizens to register with the U.S. government.